09/01/2026
Some people leave a legacy behind when they die.
Others have been building it in people for decades.
On Sunday morning, our community lost John Lease. And it is difficult to put into words what that means, because John somehow felt like someone who would always be here.
He was 87 years old. He had endured more than his share of health challenges. And still, he was teaching. Still investing in people. Still expecting more from them because he could see what was there before they always could.
John had an extraordinary ability to hold two truths at once:
You are enough exactly as you are.
And I know you can do better.
He made people feel valuable simply because they were themselves. And then he pushed them. He challenged them. He pulled things out of musicians—and human beings—that they didn't always know were there.
I was one of them.
More than 20 years ago, I was planning to attend a different college when John reached out at nearly the last hour and told me, essentially, "I really wish you'd consider coming here. We want you here."
That was it.
I changed my plans and went to Clarke.
And week after week, I walked into lessons with John where somehow there was room for all of it—the music, school, life, tears, frustration, laughter, whatever I happened to carry through the door that day. Nothing had to be left outside in order to make music.
Looking back, I think those lessons were one of the first places I experienced what music could feel like when the whole person was welcome.
I didn't realize then how deeply that would stay with me.
John's fingerprints are all over Centrally Rooted.
So many of our teachers were his students. Walk through our building on any given afternoon and there is a very good chance you'll hear one of those beloved—and occasionally despised—Master Vocal Exercises coming from behind a lesson-room door.
You'll hear his techniques.
His one-liners.
His humor.
You'll hear pieces of John being passed from one generation of musicians to the next.
And even the students at Centrally Rooted who never met John Lease are being impacted by him.
Because I've realized something in the days since his death:
A piece of the Centrally Rooted philosophy began in that lesson room with John.
Come through our doors exactly as you are.
You don't have to hide the hard parts.
You don't have to already believe in yourself.
We'll meet you there.
We'll help you discover who you are.
We'll help you learn to love that person.
And somewhere along the way, we'll help you become a better musician, too.
John knew how to create that kind of space long before I had words for it.
That's John.
Resilient. Radiant. Hilarious. Demanding. Talented. Loving.
A teacher in every sense of the word.
It seems like everyone in Dubuque has a John Lease story. And that's because John didn't just teach music in this community.
He changed people.
And those people changed other people.
And those people are changing people still.
What a beautiful man.
What a beautiful life.
What an extraordinary ripple.
We love you, John.
Your voice is still here. 💚
